Australian Rum Rebellion 1808

[ 1808 - 1810 ]

William Bligh (1754-1817), governor of New South Wales, Australia, prohibited offering spirits in payment for commodities. Though many colonists supported his attempts to normalize trade, others resented his interference. A series of charges and countercharges culminated in a military rebellion in January 1808. A group of New South Wales Corps officers, led by Major George Johnston, a regular, arrested Bligh as unfit for office and held him prisoner pending the arrival of a new governor. For over a year Bligh remained confined. Finally he agreed to set sail for England, but once aboard he turned back and attempted to resume control of Sydney. In 1809, the British government, recognizing the impasse between governor and military, recalled Bligh (to become a rear admiral). Colonel Lachlin Macquarie, an able administrator, arrived (1809). The commandant was later found guilty of mutiny and the New South Wales Corps was broken up.